Fiber optic cables are widely used in communications systems. Communications services are typically provided to specific customers by splicing drop cables to feeder cables.
For years, users of fiber optic cables lashed to messenger wires have used the technique of “taut sheath splicing” to splice cables used to drop service to specific customers. The taut sheath splicing technique is attractive because it enables a user to splice in the drop cable without predetermining splice points or slack coils. The technique is currently performed only with messenger supported fiber optic cables, that is, cables having a messenger, typically a steel cable, as the supporting element. The optical fibers can be either lashed to a messenger, or embedded in a “figure 8” type cable with the messenger and fiber optic cable extruded together into a “figure 8” form.
All-dielectric, self-supporting (ADSS) fiber optic cable contains no metal, and uses aramid yarns or other non-metallic strength members to minimize the amount of strain experienced by the fibers during their lifetime. Devices that are used to connect the cables to supporting structures must grip the cables in a manner such that the tensile load from the cable is properly transferred from the cable strength members through the cable sheath to the supporting structure, without damaging the optical fibers.
ADSS cable has inherent benefits over lashed systems. Since the ADSS installation only requires the installation of a single cable, the installation method is faster, and therefore less expensive than the two-part installation of a lashed system. ADSS cable can more easily be deployed in the “supply” zone of the pole, making it very attractive for use by groups, such as municipalities, that have access to the supply area of the pole. The metal-free, dielectric design eliminates bonding and grounding of the cable. In addition, there is minimal maintenance required for the ADSS system, relative to a lashed system.
One reason that taut sheath splicing has not been performed on ADSS cable is an industry perception that traditional ADSS needed a deadend built into each end of the splice closure, turning the closure into a structural member.
Another reason is the industry perception that an ADSS cable must be lashed within the span in the vicinity of the splice, thereby dramatically increasing the cost of the installation and decreasing the flexibility of the installation.
There is, therefore, a need for an improved apparatus for permitting splicing all-dielectric, self-supporting fiber optic cable.